Separable closure cap and locking member therefor



oct. 2o, 1936. H K BASKIN 2,058,206

SEPARBLE CLOSURE CAP AND LOCKING MEMBER THEREFOR Filed June 20', 1936INVENTOR. /E 55e 7 QS/L//A/ Patented Oct. 20, 1936 *UNITED STATES PATENToFFl-CE SEPARABLE CLOSURE CAP AND LOCKING MEMBER THEREFOR HerbertK.Baskin, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application June 20, 1936, Serial No. 86,259

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in receptacle closures and hasparticular reference to a closure cap and locking member thereforadapted for use on bottles, jars and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved closure cap andlocking member of simple, practical and economical construction in whichthe locking member will securely hold the closure cap in its operativeposition and permit of the easy removal thereof from a receptacle bycoaction of the cap and member when the latter is manipulated.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the followingdetailed description when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing which illustrates preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective View of a receptacle such as abottle or jar showing one form of the invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section illustrating, in full lines,the operative position of the cap and locking member, the dotted lineposition showing the manner of releasing the cap from its position onthe receptacle.

'Figure 3 is a fragmentary View, partially in elevation and partially insection, showing a slightly modied form of the invention, the dottedlines indicating the releasing position, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another form of locking member used inconjunction with the closure cap.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the numeral 5indicates a receptacle of any type to which the closure cap and lockingmember, generally indicated by the numerals 6 and 'I respectively, maybe applied.

As shown in Figures l and 2, the closure cap 6, which may be made of anysuitable material such as metal or the like, is of circular formation tofit the open end of the receptacle 5, and the top of said cap comprisesan annular, flat, marginal portion 8 which is disposed directly abovethe rim of the receptacle 5 when the closure cap is in position. Awasher or gasket 9 forming a seal may be disposed between the receptacleand said portion 8, if desired. The remainder of the top of the capwithin the marginal portion 8 is formed into a curved depression II! fora purpose which will appear in the course of the description. The capfurther has a depending flange or rim I I which encircles and engagesthe outer periphery of the receptacle 5 when the cap is in position andthe free lower edge of said flange terminates adjacent an annularshoulder I2 formed on the receptacle 5.

The locking member 1, which is utilized to retain the closure cap in itsoperative position, is preferably formed from an elongated strip offlexible material, preferably having a certain amount of resiliency,such as metal or the like. The intermediate portion of the lockingmember extends diametrically across the top of the'cap 6 when the memberis in position and in' so doing the ends of said intermediate portionrest upon the marginal portion 8 of thecap, while the remainder of saidintermediate portion extends above the depression Il! inthe cap innormal spaced relation thereto. At each end of the member 'I the same isbent laterally to form a retaining element I3 which is engageable withthe rim II of the cap and which terminates in one or more inturned clawsI4 adapted to engage beneath the annular shoulder I2 of the receptacle iand-thereby lock the closure cap thereto. Means are provided forretaining the vlocking member I against lateral shifting with respect tothe closure cap such as might occur if the member 'I were accidentallystruck sidewise. Such means preferably takes the form of a pair ofoutstrucklugs I5 disposed on the rim II and spaced apart sufficiently toreceive therebetween the depend-A ing retaining elements I3 of thelocking member, and thus provide stops against which the edges of saidretaining element will Contact to prevent the lateral shifting referredto. To remove the cover from the receptacle, it is only necessary toexert a pressure upon the central point ofthe member 'I to flex the samedownwardly and into the depression ID. When such action occurs, theinner edge of the marginal portion 8 of the cover acts as a fulcrum atthe two diametrically opposite points which are engaged by the ends ofthe iiat portion of said member 'l and as the flexing of the lattertakes place the retaining elements I3 are rocked and swung outwardly tothe dottedline position shown in Figure 2 whereupon the claws I4 willdisengage from beneath the shoulder I2 and thus permit the closure capto be lifted from the receptacle. Said cap may be replaced in itsclosing position by a reversal of the operation just described.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 3, the cap 6 and lockingelement 1 are of substantially the same construction as the embodimentfirst described and differ therefrom only in the formation of the caprim and retaining elements y an annular bead II formed by two angularlydisposed surfaces of said rim. Likewise, each retaining element I8 ofthe locking member 'I is bent adjacent its lower edge to form an annulargroove I9 adapted to receive the bead I'I when the elements are inoperative position. The free extremity of the retaining element I8contiguous to the groove I9 is bent inwardly to provide the claw 20which engages beneath the shoulder I2 of the receptacle to lock thecover in position. When the portion of the member 1 above the depressionIIJ in the cover is exed into said depression, the action is the same asthat previously described and the retaining elements I8 are swungoutwardly to disengage the claws 2l) from the shoulder I2 as shown indotted lines in Figure 3. However, due to the bead II on the cover theclaw 28 of each retaining member I8 will not be swung outwardly sufcientto clear the rim of the cover with the result that said claw will stillremain in contact with the bead I'I and the locking member will notbecome completely detached from the cover, thus avoiding separation andpossible loss of either the cover or locking member should it be desiredto later use the same in re-closing the receptacle.

Another form of locking member 2l is illustrated in Figure 4 of thedrawing in which said member is again made of a exible material, themember in this instance being bifurcated at its ends as indicated at 22so as to form two diverging arms 23 each terminating in a laterallyextending retaining element 24 similar to the elements I3 and I8, theextremity of each element being inturned to form a claw 25 engagingunderneath the shoulder I2 of the receptacle. When the member 2| is inposition the divergence of the arms 23 disposes the elements 24 inspaced relation to each other and on opposite sides of the diametriccenter of the closure cap. By this arrangement, the possibility of anylateral shifting of the locking member relative to the closure cap isreduced and the necessity of employing any retaining means such as lugsI5 may be avoided. 'I'he cover 6 of the present modification may bedetached from the receptacle in the same manner as deportion disposedover said depression and other portions resting upon said marginalportion of the cap, and retaining elements at the ends of said lockingmember engageable with the receptacle to hold said cap in closedposition, said intermediate portion of the locking member capable ofbeing I'lexed into said depression and the inner edge of said marginalportion providing a fulcrum for said member when so exed whereby saidretaining elements are released from engagement with said receptacle.

2. In combination, a closure cap for a receptacle, said cap having aiiat annular marginal portion and a central depression in its top, anelongated exible locking member extending diametrically across said topwith its intermediate portion disposed over said depression and otherportions resting upon said marginal portion of the cap, retainingelements at the ends of said locking member engageable with thereceptacle to hold said cap in closed position, said intermediateportion of the locking member capable of being flexed into saiddepression and the inner edge of said marginal portion providing afulcrum for said member when so flexed whereby said retaining elementsare released from engagement with said receptacle, and stop lugs on saidcap disposed on opposite sides of and engageable with said lockingmember to prevent lateral shifting thereof relative to said cap when themember is in locking position.

3. In combination, a. closure cap for receptacles, said cap having a topprovided with a central depression and further having a dependingannular flange provided with a bead extending thereabout, and a llexiblelocking member for said cap extending thereacross with the intermediateportion of said member disposed above said depression and capable ofbeing ilexed into the same when releasing said cap, said locking memberhaving gripping portions at its ends engageable with said flange withthe extremities of said gripping portions engaging said receptacle toretain said cover in position thereon and being released from saidreceptacle when the locking member is flexed into said depression, saidgripping portions having grooves to receive said bead when the lockingmember is in operative position and said bead being engaged by saidlocking extremities of the gripping portions, when the locking member isflexed, to retain said member on said cover when the latter is removedfrom the receptacle.

HERBERT K. BASKIN.

